The Portland winemakers of Ovum get their inspiration from nature

In the swamp of new local wine producers that hit the market each year, a few rise up and snag our attention. This year, Ovum is the label that's floating our boat. The label's tiny inaugural vintage, 2011, got snapped up in national markets like Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., and sold out. In 2012, husband-and-wife team John House and Ksenija Kostic produced a bit more (450 cases), so you might get the chance to try this recently released vintage before it disappears.

Because both House and Kostic both have day jobs (more on that later), they're able to take risks with Ovum. For example, they focus solely on whites rather than more lucrative reds. "They are unveiled, so raw," explains House. "You can't hide anything. I think whites are a better conduit for terroir (the expression of a vineyard site) than red wines."

Where a larger winery might ferment whites quickly in large, temperature-controlled steel tanks for a consistency of style from year to year, the goal at Ovum is to reflect the vintage, no matter what it brings. So the techniques are old-school: House and Kostic allow fermentation to happen spontaneously and linger for months, in neutral (old) oak barrels. The resulting wines are richly textured and deeply layered.

The name "Ovum" is a reference to the perfect natural shape of the egg, and the life cycle a wine takes, from grape to bottle. And, yes, for all you wine geeks out there, these guys do have one of those au courant egg-shaped concrete fermenters. "There is a special convection that occurs in the concrete egg during fermentation that constantly stirs the lees," House explains. "The natural energy and heat generated by the yeasts make the sediment move in a circular fashion, making, in my experience, wines on the most mineral end of the spectrum."

Ovum's philosophy is similar to that of uber-cool Teutonic Wine Company (featured in the January 2012 issue of MIX). Like Olga and Barnaby Tuttle of Teutonic, House and Kostic have made it their mission to find the state's best old plantings of overlooked varieties like muscat and gewurztraminer.

Their explorations have led them to highlight different vineyards, often in unexpected regions, with each vintage. "There are parts of southern Oregon we find very compelling," says House. "I just got an e-mail from someone who has plantings of riesling, farmed organically in the Umpqua Valley since 1979. Where has this fruit been going until now? It has been blended."

But don't expect to see House and Kostic at wine events any time soon: These people work too hard. Both were at Chehalem for five years; Kostic is now the enologist at Argyle, while House now manages national sales for The Eyrie Vineyards and handles the West Coast for Ole Imports. So good luck finding them outside of the cellar.

All the wines are approximately $25. You can find them at Barrique Barrel, Cork: A Bottle Shop, Division Wines and E&R Wine Shop. ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Currently the cellar master at Carlton Cellars, Joe Williams worked in the restaurant industry for three decades before turning to winemaking. His crisp D'Anu Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($24) was aged in neutral oak for a light touch. It begs to be chilled and served with cold salmon or ham sandwiches at a picnic. Williams named his label after the Irish Mother Earth goddess. Alas, he produced only 56 cases of the pinot, so for now, you've got to order it through danuwines.org.

Alex Fullerton has put in time at Penner-Ash and Bergstrom and has worked the harvest in Marlborough, New Zealand. He's now back at OSU for his second bachelor's degree, in Viticulture and Enology. Meanwhile, he's launched the Fullerton label in partnership with his parents, Eric and Susanne (his siblings and girlfriend have also been roped into the venture). While they wait for their small, organically farmed Ivy Slope chardonnay vineyard to mature, the family is making juicy, appealing wines. Their "Five Faces" rose ($22) and pinot noir ($36) were both sold out by the time we went to press, but look for the 2012 pinot noir this month at SE Wine Collective.